Score-board.



J. P. KEENAN.

SCORE BOARD.

APPLICATION rum Plum, 1909.

Patented Jan. 25, 1910.

01 a $51 M amiaayzzzafm JOSEPH P. KEENAN, 0F WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT.

SCORE-BOARD.

Application filed February 8, 1909.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 25, 1910.

Serial No. 476,817.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH P. KEENAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of W'aterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Score- Boards, which improvements are fully set forth in the following specification.

This invention relates to improvements in devices of that class commonly known as score-boards, the same being availed of for recording purposes in connection with the playing of various games, as bowling, pool, or the like; and its object is to provide a device of the character above indicated, which shall be simple and inexpensive as regards construction; durable, eflicient and reliable in practical service; which shall embody novel features of construction whereby all of the operative parts of the device as a. whole are rendered readily accessible to the user; and which shall possess certain welldefined advantages over prior analogous constructions.

The invention consists in the novel combinations, parts and details whereby, together with the novel disposition and relative arrangement of said parts, the attainment of the foregoing object is rendered practicable, all of which will be more specifically referred to hereinafter and set forth in the appended claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein corresponding reference-name 'als denote like parts throughout the several views, as to which:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a score-board embodying my said improve ments. Fig. 2 is a central, vertical, longitudinal section of same. 7 Fig. 3 is a detail perspective View showing features of the construction as embodied in the upper portion of the frame made use of. Fig. f is a detail sectional view showing the construction of the bearings for the paying-off shaft or roller made use of.

In carrying out my invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, I provide a main, box-like f 'ame which essentially comprises opposite side-portions 2, 2, suitable end-portions 3, 3, connecting said side-portions, and interior cross-pieces 1, 1, the latter aiding in giving rigidity to the frame as a whole, and performing other functions which will be more fully referred to hereinafter.

The end-portion 3 is provided at its inner face with a track or ledge 5, whose upper surface coincides with the elongated recess 5, formed at the inner face of the side-portion 3, and with the elongated opening 6, formed through the opposite side-portion 3.

6 is a head-plate, bearing the legends and numerical characters shown in Fig. 1. Under normal conditions of the parts the upper margin of the head-plate (3 bears on, and is supported by, the track 5, while the inner and outer ends thereof bear on the side-portions 3, 3, at the base of the recess 5' and the base of the opening 6, respectively, said. head-plate, accordingly, being shiftable endwise to and fro along the track 5, and hence transversely of the frame.

The head-plate 6 may be adjusted for service with respect to the frame aforenamed, by inserting the proper end thereof into the opening (5, and then imparting thereto a suitable end-thrust; and by reversing this end-thrust the said plate may be withdrawn from said frame, as will be readily understood.

lVithin the frame aforenamed there is arranged an inscribing-plate 7, the same being tiltable in an upward direction with respect to said frame, as on the hinges 7, by means of which, in this instance, said inscribingplate is attached to the cross-piece 1; and to facilitate the use of said hinges, the inscribing-plate is provided with a suitable cleat 8, said hinges being attached in any common and well known manner to the cleat aforenamcd and to the cross-piece 4, respectively. It will now be seen that, under normal conditions of the parts, the lower or free end portion of the inscribing-plate rests on, and is supported by, the cross-piece l, the latter accordingly serving to limit the tilting movement of said inseribing-plate downwardly on the hingesT, and whereby the inscribing surface of said inscribingplate is held substantially 'llush with the adjacent edges of the side-portions 2, 2, and hence readily accessible to the user. The inscribing-plate 7 terminates at its free end slightly short of the end-piece 3, thus providing a narrow transverse space 8 between itself and said end-piece, and also terminates at its upper end slightly short of the headplate 6, thus providing an additional, narpaper 10, or analogous material adapted to be written on with a pen, pencil or similar device, said paper or material being in the form of a strip of considerable length, and in width corresponding practically to the distance between the inner faces of the side portions 2, 2. The free end of the paper 10 is projected upwardly through the space 8, thence along the inscribing face of the inscribing-plate 7, thence downwardly through the space 9, where it engages a leading-on shaft or roller 10, the latter being journaled in the side-portions 2, 2, near the upper ends thereof and beneath the removable head-plate 6. The shaft 10 carries at one end thereof an outwardly projecting, manysided arbor 11, adapted to receive a key 11, or other appropriate device,whereby said shaft may be duly turned to cause, as occasion may make desirable, transition of the paper 10 upwardly along the inscribing surface of the inscribing-plate 7, and said paper to be wound onto the shaft 10 in rollform, the paper being measurably guided in this movement by the side-portions 2, 2. The paper 10 is usually provided with a reticulated surface which is exposed as the paper passes the inscribing-plate 7, and is freely accessible to the score-keeper or other individual who may wish to inscribe thereon matter or data pertaining to the progress and finish of a game. When reticulated, the paper bears longitudinal lines which form or define longitudinal columns, and transverse lines which form with the longitudinal lines aforenamed, fields 12, within which may be inscribed appropriate data, as the names of the players, the score or points made by each player in a given inning, and finally the total score or points made by the respective players in a number of innings, all as in common practice.

The feature of adjustability of the headplate 6 makes it convenient for the user to insure proper registry between the legends and characters borne thereby and any characteristic feature of the paper, as longitudinal columns, which such legends and characters, respectively, are employed to iden tify; and the removable feature of said headplate not only insures to the user the ready and convenient access to the leading-on shaft 10, but permits the substitution of one head-plate bearing certain legends for another bearing different legends, as may at times be found desirable.

The shaft 10 is reduced at one end to form a journal which turns in a suitable socket 15 formed in the side-portion 2, while at its opposite end the shank of its arbor 11 serves as a journal therefor, and bears in a suitable opening 15 formed in the side-portion 2, said arbor projecting by way of said opening outwardly beyond the side-portion 2, to receive the key 11, as hereinbefore stated.

In connection with the disposition. of the leading-off shaft 9, I purpose to provide bearings for the same by forming in each of the opposite side-portions 2, 2, and in alinement transversely across the frame as a whole, an opening 12, which communicates with a vertical elongated socket 13, formed at the inner face of each of said side-portions. Then by adjusting and holding the supply roll of paper so that it centrally or axially alines with the opposite openings 12, the shaft 9 is inserted axially through said roll of paper by way of either of the openings 12, and until its respective end portions project suitably beyond the respective ends of said roll of paper, to form, as it were, journals therefor; whereupon said shaft, with the roll of paper thereon, is allowed to descend until its end portions engage and bear on the bases, respectively, of the opposite sockets 13, endwise displacement of the shaft 9 in either direction from the roll of paper, being then prevented by the side-portions 2, 2, and said shaft may not be removed from said roll of paper, or from the sockets 13, until the same shall have been again brought to alinement with the openings 12, as will be clearly understood.

lVhile the construction thus far described may be arranged in an upright position, and attached to any appropriate supporting medium, I prefer to arrange the same substantially as illustrated in the drawings, where it is shown as being tilted somewhat out of a horizontal position, and mounted on a suitable stand or pedestal 13; and to this end the frame aforenamed may be provided with a central cross-board 14, to permit the use of screws 11-, or other suitable fastening elements.

The tilting feature of the inscribing-plate 7 insures to the user ready and convenient access to the leading-off shaft 9, and likewise to the screws 14, when the latter are availed of for fastening the scoreboard proper to a stand or pedestal, as hereinbefore alluded to.

The fields 12, naturally, may vary as to area to suit the needs of the user.

It will be noted that in my improved score-board the inscribing-plate is arranged immediately in advance of the leading-off and leading-on rollers, and while the latter are substantially housed and hidden from view, access to the same may be readily had from the front or inscribing side of the frame.

In practice the score-keeper inscribes the names of the players in the fields embraced in the column at the extreme left margin of the paper; then inscribes, as the game proceeds, the score or points made by each player during, say, the first inning, within the field embraced in the column next to the right of the name of such player, and so on throughout the number of innings played, finally inscribing the total score or number of points made by each player within the field opposite such players name and embraced in the column at the extreme right margin of the paper. The game now having been completed, the used segment of the paper is moved, as through the medium of the shaft 10 and key 11', upwardly and beyond the inscribing-plate; and this operation results in a fresh segment of the paper being brought into position along the inscribing-plate, thereby rendering the same available for recording the results of a succeeding game, and so on, as will be clearly understood.

It will be seen that my improved scoreboard is well adapted for the purposes for which it is intended, and further that the same may be modified to some extent, particularly as regards the features of the construction whereby removability of the headplate is secured, the legends or characters borne by said head-plate, the specific character of the bearings for the respective rollers or shafts 9, 10, the means whereby a tilting movement of the inscribing-plate is secured, and other minor details of the general construction, without departing from the spirit and principle of my invention.

I claim:

1. A score-board comprising a box-like frame; an inscribing-plate attached thereto in a manner to form a space between one of its extreme ends and the adjacent end-piece of said frame, and to further provide therefor, at its opposite end, an axis of upward, tilting movement; and a leadingolf shaft, the latter journaled within said frame, rear wardly of said inscribing-plate, and carrying a supply of material adapted to be written upon, the said space permitting the leading of said material from said shaft. to and around the extreme adjacent end of said inscribingplate, and thence along the exposed face thereof.

2. A score-board comprising a box-like frame; an inscribing-plate attached thereto in a manner to form a space between one of its extreme ends and the adjacent endpiece of said frame, and to further provide therefor, at its opposite end, an axis of upward tilting movement; a leading-oil shaft, journaled within said frame, rearwardly of said inscribing-plate, and carrying a supply l l l umns, and adapted to be written upon; and a head-plate, the latter supported by said body adjacent to the confined end of said inscribing-plate, and bearing legends identifying said columns, respectively, the space aforenannxl permitting the leading of said material from said shaft to and around the extreme adjacent end of said inscribingplate, and thence along the exposed face thereof, for cooperation with said headplate.

3. A score-board comprising a box-like frame; an inscribing-plate attached thereto in a manner to form a space between one of its extreme ends and the adjacent endpiece of said frame, and to further provide therefor, at its opposite end, an axis of upward, tilting movement; a leading-oif shaft, journaled within said frame, rearwardly of said inscribing-plate, and carrying a supply of material bearing defined longitudinal columns, and adapted to be written upon; and a head-plate, the latter supported by said body adjacent to the confined end of said inscribing-plate, adjustable to and fro at right angles to said columns, and bearing legends identifying the same, respectively, the space aforenamed permitting the leading of said material from said shaft to and around the extreme adjacent end of said inscribing-plate, and thence along the exposed face thereof, for cooperation with said headplate.

4. A score-board comprising a box-like frame; an inscribing-plate attached thereto in a manner to form a space between one of its extreme ends and the adjacent end-piece of said frame, and to further provide therefor, at its opposite end, an axis of upward,

, tilting movement; a leading-off shaft and a leading-on shaft, journalcd within said frame, rearwardly of Said inscribing-plate and adjacent to the free and confined ends thereof, respectively, said leading-off shaft carrying a supply of material adapted to be written upon, and the said space permitting the leading of said material to and around the extreme adjacent end of said inscribingplate, thence along the exposed face thereof, to the confined end thereof, and thence to engagement with said leading-on shaft; and means for turning the latter to wind said material thereon.

5. A score-board comprising a box-like frame; an inscribing-plate attached thereto in a manner to form a space between one of its extreme ends and the adjacent end-piece of said frame, and to further provide therefor, at its opposite end, an axis of upward, tilting movement; a legend-bearing headplate supported by said frame in a manner to form an additional space between itself and the adjacent, confined end of said inscribing-plate; and a leading-oif shaft, the

of material bearing defined longitudinal 001- l latter journaled within said frame, rear- Wardly of saidinscribing-plate, and carryspace; and the legends borne by said heading a supply of material, bearing defined plate serving to identify said'longitudinal 10 columns and adapted to be Written upon, columns, respectively.

the space first aforenamed permittinw the leading of said material to and around the JOSEPH KEENAN' extreme, adjacent end of said inscribing- Vitnesses:

plate, and thence along the exposed face FRANCES T. REEVEs,

thereof, to and through said additional. CHARLES J. PIERPONT. 

